Page 186 - Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

19

The Goldilocks Rule: How to Stay

Motivated in Life and Work

N 1955, Disneyland had just opened in Anaheim, California, when a ten-
I year-old boy walked in and asked for a job. Labor laws were loose back
then and the boy managed to land a position selling guidebooks for $0.50
apiece.

Within a year, he had transitioned to Disney’s magic shop, where he
learned tricks from the older employees. He exper imented with jokes and
tried out simple routines on visitors. Soon he discovered that what he loved

was not per forming magic but per forming in general. He set his sights on
becoming a comedian.
Beg inning in his teenage years, he started per forming in little clubs
around Los Angeles. e crowds were small and his act was short. He was
rarely on stage for more than ve minutes. Most of the people in the crowd

were too busy drinking or talking with friends to pay attention. One night,
he literally delivered his stand-up routine to an empty club.
It wasn’t glamorous work, but there was no doubt he was getting better.

His rst routines would only last one or two minutes. By high school, his
mater ial had expanded to include a ve-minute act and, a few years later, a
ten-minute show. At nineteen, he was per forming weekly for twenty minutes
at a time. He had to read three poems during the show just to make the
routine long enough, but his skills continued to progress.